A worker on her way to milk goats discovered the fire in the 120-cubic-yard manure pile around 3 a.m. Wednesday, said George Redick, owner of the 800-goat Oak Knoll Dairy. He and others put out the flames with water from a hose but the pile continued to smolder. He planned to call the fire department later in the morning, but firefighters were already searching for the source of the smell by 6:30 a.m.

Marsh said he could smell the fire at his hilltop home five miles away. He called it "a little disconcerting, because it was a very strong smell."

Redick says the manure would typically have been spread around the farm earlier in the year, but the rainy season and other factors kept that from happening.